Belgium scraps $50 mln aid as Rwanda fails to meet democracy target

KIGALI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Belgium has scrapped
40-million-euro ($50-million) of aid to Rwanda over its failure
to meet media freedom and governance targets, a diplomat at the
Belgian embassy in Kigali said on Monday.

Rwanda's tiny economy remains dependent on outside support
and Western countries' suspension of aid in 2012 over alleged
support from President Paul Kagame's administration for M23
rebels in neighbouring Congo, hurt Rwanda's growth in 2013.

Belgium in 2011 promised to give Rwanda aid worth 160
million euros over four years, the diplomat said, and offered an
additional 40 million euros if it met various targets.

"The 40 million euros, in the agreement, was a reward that
could be given to Rwanda if the score on media and governance
was sufficiently met. There were improvements but not sufficient
as written in the agreement we signed in 2011," he said.

Rwanda's minister of finance said that the government was
still discussing payment of the extra money with Belgium.

"We are discussing it in our cooperation and we haven't
raised it as an issue at all," Claver Gatete told Reuters.

Rwanda is ranked 162 out of 180 countries in the
2014 Reporters Without Borders media freedom index. Critics
accuse Kagame of trampling on media and political freedoms.

The economy expanded 4.7 percent in 2013, its weakest since
2003, missing the central African country's own 7.6 percent
forecast.

Many Western partners have since resumed aid flows and
Rwanda's economic growth is seen at 6 percent this year, rising
to 6.5 percent in 2015.
(Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Louise Ireland)